Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University women's basketball team dropped a 79-72 decision against Big South Conference opponent High Point University (13-9, 7-4) on Thursday evening at Willett Hall in Farmville. Freshman Daeisha Brown|Richmond paced four double-digit scorers for the Lancers (9-14, 6-6) with 20 points. Senior Crystal Smith|Richmond added 15 points to become the 20th member of Longwood's Prestigious 1,000 Point Club. Cheyenne Parker led the Panthers with a double-double of 34 points and 20 rebounds. Longwood returns to action when the squad faces off against league opponent Liberty University on Saturday, February 9 for the annual “Pack the House Game” beginning at 2 p.m.

High Point won the opening tip and scored the first six points of the night before senior Erin Neal|Durham, N.C. hit a layup to spark a 6-0 run for the Lancers, knotting the game at 6-6 with 16:11 remaining in the first half. Smith, who entered Thursday's game with 999 career points, surpassed 1,000 career points with a deep three from the left corner, giving Longwood it first lead of the night, up 9-8, at 14:08 in the first half. The squads alternated points and tied twice more, at 9-9 and 13-13, before Brown and freshman Khalilah Ali|Suffolk knocked down back-to-back layups to give Longwood a 17-13 advantage with just over 10 minutes to play in the period. Longwood maintained at least a two-point buffer until the Panthers scored 10 unanswered points to pull ahead, 27-21, at 5:43 in the first. Freshman Raven Williams|Richmond drained a jumper from beyond the arc to cut the deficit back to just three, but HPU retaliated with a three-point play and another free throw to make it a 31-24 game with less than four minutes to go in the half. Longwood outscored High Point, 8-4, in the final minutes of the period, but the Panthers took a slight, 35-32 edge into the break.

The Panthers scored seven of the first nine points in the second half, as LU's only bucket was a jumper from senior Mieke Elkington|Hamilton, New Zealand, making it a 42-34 contest with 18:53 still to play. Longwood quickly worked to make it a two-possession game at 44-40 with jumpers from Smith and Brown, but High Point put together a 14-3 run to take its largest lead at 58-43 with 9:30 remaining in the outing. The Lancers used three straight layups to cut the margin back to single-digits at 58-49, but HPU would lead by as many as 14 in the waning minutes, up 74-60, with 2:28 remaining. The Lancers would not go quietly, outscoring the visitors, 12-5, in the last minutes, but it would not be enough, as High Point took the 79-72 victory.  

In addition to Brown and Smith, Neal and Williams rounded out the double-digit scorers for LU with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Elkington, who added seven points, posted a team-high seven rebounds on the night, while Ali added five boards of her own. As a team, the Lancers shot 44% (28-63) from the floor, including 29% (6-21) from beyond the arc, and 71% (10-14) from the line.

Parker's 34 points and 20 rebounds were both game-high marks. Three other Panthers tallied double-digit points in the outing. As a whole, the Panthers shot 53% (32-61) from the field, 46% (5-11) from three-point territory and 63% (10-16) from the foul line. Longwood will play its next contest at Radford on Feb. 9 beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Thursday's contest marked the 27th meeting ever between Longwood and High Point in the sport of women's basketball. The Panthers hold a 16-11 advantage in the all-time series.